'King Kobra' pimp guilty of sex trafficking

Sam Wood

PHILLY.COM

A Philadelphia pimp who ran a multi-state prostitution operation was found guilty today on three counts of sex trafficking.

The women who worked for Rahim McIntyre, 36, knew him as “King Kobra.”

Federal prosecutors said McIntyre actively recruited his prostitutes with a page on Facebook and sent several of his women to find additional job candidates at the Gallery at Market East, according to court papers.

McIntyre used threats and violence to keep his prostitutes in line,doling out beatings that would leave them bloodied and bruised, federal prosecutors said. He placed online advertisements on Backpage.com and Craigslist featuring explicit pictures of each of the women, several of whom were under 18.

The women were shuttled to assignations as far north as Massachusetts, though they worked most often out of Philadelphia hotels including the Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn and Sheraton Suites, according to court documents.